


Tiny Side Adventures

by PeridotWritesFic



Category: Sanders Sides, Thomas Sanders, Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Adventure, Gen, General fluff, Parenting(ish), tiny sides
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-02
Updated: 2018-01-06
Packaged: 2019-02-27 07:54:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 7,533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13243860
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PeridotWritesFic/pseuds/PeridotWritesFic
Summary: Based on a Tumblr prompt and originally posted on Tumblr:  Roman finds himself the caretaker of three age-regressed sides and Thomas.  This is his story and adventures.





	1. Prologue

Thomas was going to be ticked.

Roman sat on the living room floor facing the couch where Logan, Patton, and Virgil glared at him, their tiny feet unable to reach the floor. Yeah, they weren't happy either, but he really hadn't meant to let it happen!

Yes, he'd confiscated a bottle of magic potion from a morally ambiguous sorcerer. Yes, the bottle had looked rather ominous, he'd thought to give it to Virgil once it was empty. And yes, he may have been overtired when he'd returned from his adventure, so he may have been startled when the other sides had popped up behind him to remind him they had a video to work on.

Roman put his head in his hands. He'd dropped the bottle and the potion had soaked all three of them. In moments they'd regressed to much younger versions of themselves. Roman looked up at them again.

Logan looked to be about four years old, his glasses covering almost half of his face, but the disapproving glare was so similar to the adult version it was almost effective, even with the slightly chubby cheeks.

Patton had regressed further, maybe two and a half or three years old? He'd stopped glaring at Roman and started staring at him like he'd just been told he could never play again. Oh dear Circe, his eyes were welling up and his bottom lip was quivering.

Virgil hadn't regressed as much as either of the others, he was probably five, though he looked a little older with the hoodie and makeup still on his tiny face. His black-rimmed eyes glared at Roman enough to make the royal's insides squirm. Got to hand it to anxiety, at any age he was still intimidating.

Nope, Thomas wasn't going to be ticked, he was going to be livid.

“I'm really sorry guys.” Roman began, “that bottle I spilled had a potion in it and,”

“No shit” muttered Virgil.

“What's shid?” asked Patton, his eyes wide and staring at Virgil.

“And why he big?” asked Logan, also looking at Virgil now with a pout of envy.

“Virgil, no swearing, especially not in front of Patton. The potion was some kind of de-aging serum, and I think you may have regressed more or less depending on how much of the stuff came in contact with your skin.”

And, they were back to glaring at him, well, Patton was sucking his thumb and glaring at him, but still, not good.

“I'm going to find a way to fix this, I promise,” Roman continued “it may even wear off on its own, but for right now, we need to check on Thomas and see how this is affecting him, okay?”

Three little heads nodded and Roman plucked Patton off the couch, Logan and Anxiety shuffling off the couch themselves. Grabbing ahold of their little hands as best he could, he sank them out of the mind-scape and into Thomas's room.

 


	2. Telling Thomas

It...could have been worse.

They'd definitely seen Thomas in and through more dire situations than this, but it still wasn't great. Thomas was curled up in bed with a blanket around him like a robe. He was holding a... yes, that was a bowl of chocolate ice cream with potato chips on top and a fork sticking out of it. He was watching cartoons on his laptop and startled when Roman popped up, his three miniature sides in tow.

“Roman! What's going on? I woke up afraid of the monster under my bed, I can't concentrate, blankets make everything better, and this seemed like the most logical choice for breakfast.”

“Prince messed up.” piped up Virgil from somewhere around Roman's left knee.

“I made a little mistake, the other sides are currently regressed. I'm going to fix it.”

Roman tried to imagine what adult versions of the other sides would do if they could help manage this. Well, Logic would, uh, assess the situation! Well, Thomas didn't seem capable of Adultery today. Oh great, now he was using Patton's incorrect term for acting as an adult. Anyway, Morality would want to make sure he was okay, and he seemed fine, no tears or injuries or anything. Anxiety would worry about him and then work with Logic to make sure that he didn't embarrass himself or make problems for himself in the future once this was over.

“Um.. until I've sorted this out, you should cancel your plans, say you're sick or something. But don't forget to let people know that you're going to be out of commission for a few days.” Thomas nodded, looking slightly confused, but compliant. Good. He could work with that, but he needed to reassure Thomas it would be okay.

“Thomas, I swear to you that I will undo this and make it up to you, but until then, just, try to stay calm, okay?”

“Yeah, sure Roman.” Thomas nodded along then shook his head. “Wait, I have something important. Something on... what's that day in the middle of the week?”

“Hug day!” Cried a very enthusiastic Patton.

“Winds-day.” Said Logan with a disapproving look at Patton.

“Wednesday! I have something important on Wednesday, and I can't cancel it. Can you fix it before then?”

“Of course Thomas! I won't let you down.” Roman declared. It was only Friday after all, that would give him plenty of time to sort things out.

As Roman sunk them out of the room and back to the mindscape he thought he heard Virgil say something like 'we're doomed'.

 

 


	3. The Quest

If grown-up Patton could see him now.

Roman was walking through the woods in his kingdom in search of the morally-ambiguous sorcerer to reverse the potion and set his fellow sides to rights. He was on a quest to find a way to re-age Logan, Patton, and Virgil back to their normal selves. And he wasn't alone. Patton was taking a nap on his chest, strapped in with one of those baby carriers he hadn't thought he would need for quite some time. Logan and Virgil were in the double-stroller in front of him. Last he'd checked, Logan had been babbling to his Einstein doll and Virgil had been listening to music with his headphones on (Roman had made him an mp3 player with Disney villain songs on it).

There were just a couple of problems: 1) he had no idea where to find this sorcerer other than somewhere around the woods where he'd first encountered him, and 2) bringing three young children everywhere with him was slowing him down and tiring him quickly. Roman stopped and leaned against a tree and closed his eyes. He was still holding the stroller tight with both hands though, so it wouldn't roll away like last time.

This was all so frustrating! He couldn't hack or slash through the dense underbrush like this. He'd have to grab the kids and flee if it came to a fight, and Roman did not like to run away, but they were too vulnerable to have near an epic battle. Heck, they were too vulnerable to have in the kitchen while he made them breakfast. Patton had burned his tongue on scrambled eggs, Logan had spilled juice everywhere, and Virgil had been so upset by Roman rebuking them that he'd had a panic attack. He was out of his depth here and he knew it, but he saw no alternatives.

Wait, did the stroller feel lighter? Roman's eyes shot open to find Logan standing beside the stroller observing Roman with keen eyes.

“Prince crown bent.” He said, still watching him with an expression far too keen on such a young face.

Roman was perplexed. He didn't wear a crown. Did he mean...? Roman quickly reached up to check his lovely locks. Nope, still perfectly purple and quixotically coiffured.

“What do you mean, crown?” Roman asked.

Logan's little face screwed up, searching for vocabulary he likely didn't have right now and getting frustrated.

“Prince crown, royal, dusty.” Logan tried.

Roman looked down at his outfit, but there was no dirt, no tares, and not a thread out of place. Okay, so there was a spot of drool forming where Patton was dozing, open-mouthed by his shoulder, but he doubted very much that the logical side was referring to that.

Logan stamped his foot impatiently. “You hurt, here,” Logan pointed at his head, “and here,” he said, pointing to the left of his tiny chest.

Roman got it. Logan lacked the vocabulary to talk much about feelings and the metaphysical, so he was trying to communicate his thoughts through the physical world. Roman sighed.

“Yes, Prince is a little hurt here.” He pointed at his own head and received a huff in response to his efforts that clearly said 'don't patronize me'. “Okay, yes, my ego is a little bruised and yes, I'm having a hard time making sure you and Patton and Virgil are okay and finding a solution, but it's my responsibility.” Roman kneeled down in front of Logan, still holding on to the stroller and speaking quietly so as not to disturb the sleeping toddler between them.

“I...I hurt you, all of you by being careless. I hurt Thomas by ignoring the potential dangers of an unidentified potion which came from my realm, which is known for being dangerous and unpredictable. I need to make it right, and a little dent in my crown...” he smiled briefly “isn't going to stop me from looking after you.”

Logan nodded as solemnly as a four-year-old could, and walked around to the front of the stroller, returning with his Einstein doll. He held it out to Roman. “Help.”

Roman's eyes welled up as he carefully took the doll. “Thank you, Logan. I'm sure he'll help a lot.”

Logan smiled, a large genuine smile Roman couldn't remember the last time he'd seen from the Logical side and skipped back to the front of the stroller.

Roman stood and listened for the tell-tale click of Logan buckling himself in. As he began to walk again he felt the weight against his chest shift and a soft pressure on his shoulder. Patton had given him a little kiss. “Hey, buddy didn't mean to wake you up,” Roman whispered.

“P-tend” Patton whispered back and giggled. “You wuv us”.

“Go back to sleep kiddo”. Roman said, grinning as he resumed his quest, a plush Einstein in his hand and a warm feeling growing in his chest.

 


	4. Ambiguity

This was...anticlimactic.

He'd found the sorcerer in front of a cottage in the woods. He had thought about how to approach him. Should he rush forward, sword drawn and challenge him to a duel? Sneak up behind him? Where should he leave the others? Where would they be safe? Instead, the sorcerer looked up, smiled, and beckoned them forward.

And here he was, on his knees in the dirt beside this strange person, helping to weed their garden. Virgil was sitting on the cobbled path in front of the cottage, petting the sorcerer's familiar, a black cat named Belly (short for Beelzebub apparently), Logan was looking through a book on gardening (he couldn’t read, but he understood the instructional images fairly well), and Patton was chasing butterflies.

“Yes, the potion you took from me. That was supposed to be a courting gift for the lovely witch up the road.” Roman knew who he meant, the old woman seemed far from lovely to him, but to each their own. “Not an entirely legal potion in this realm, I admit, but one does strange things for love.” The sorcerer pulled up a dandelion and tossed it over the fence.

“It is a de-aging potion and it is temporary. I'd hoped that by going back to who she had been it would show her all that she has gained over the years, her wisdom, her courage, her tenacity...” They continued and Roman couldn't help but think of the last princess he'd had to rescue from that witch. Yeah, she had gotten more tenacious. That fight had lasted days. “...but I digress. The potion lasts a month, and you don't have that much time.”

Roman gave the sorcerer a quizzical glance. How did he know that? He hadn't said anything about a deadline. The sorcerer grinned at him.

“Morally ambiguous sorcerer. I have ways of knowing more than I should.”

Roman nodded and returned to pulling weeds, somehow slightly unnerved.

“There is an antidote I can brew, but it also would not be ready in time for you. There is another way, however.” The Sorcerer stopped working to fix him with a stare so intense Roman froze. “You must look deep inside yourself, and conquer your greatest flaw. Only then may the curse be lifted.”

“W-wait, really?”

“Pffft, no!” The sorcerer threw back their head and guffawed. Roman scowled which only made his companion laugh harder, falling over sideways and clutching their chest.

“But seriously,” the sorcerer said once they'd collected their self, “you can help them grow up faster. Just give them what they need.”

“What they need? What does that mean? Is this another joke?” Roman asked, a bit confused and rather wary.

“Not a joke, just some advice. Give them what they need.”

Suddenly the scenery shifted. The cottage and garden were gone, and so was the sorcerer. Roman quickly checked behind him, and to his relief, the sides were still there with him. The book Logan had been reading was gone and so was the black cat, but Virgil and Patton were still there.

Well, it wasn't much, but he'd found the sorcerer and gotten some advice, however vague and unhelpful. It was time to go home.

 


	5. Sleep Should Be Simple

Sleep was posing a problem.

They needed to sleep. That wasn't in question. With Thomas already compromised by the regression of three of his sides, he would need a full night's rest in order to function, or at least not be a danger to himself. That meant Roman had to make sure all of them got a good night's rest.

He couldn't let them sleep in their own rooms. No, it couldn't be that simple. The furnishings in those rooms were still adult size, they'd be in danger of falling out of bed and getting hurt. Also, each of the sides could prevent the others from entering their 'rooms'. What if one of them got in trouble and Roman couldn't get in to help them?

They also couldn't sleep in his room. Roman's 'room' was vast, an entire kingdom, or the world of imagination, what if one of them slipped past him and got lost? Not to mention that his kingdom was where the problem had come from in the first place. Nope, no way was he going to have them sleep in there.

So they'd all have to bunk down in the living room for a while. Easy enough, just convert the couch into a large, low bed, for the three munchkins and he'd sleep in the recliner. He was imagination, he was creativity, he could manage that. Of course, not everything can be dreamt up.

First, Patton needed his Pooh bear from his room and special ducky blanket. So, Roman had gone into Patton's room, rummaged through his closet, and found the desired objects.

Then he'd come downstairs to find Logan refusing to get into bed without a story. Roman had to go back upstairs, go into Logan's room, and find a book of children's fairy tales. Given all the books in there it had been a tall order, although Roman was sure there was some organizational system to it all, a four-year-old didn't have the means to communicate that.

Once he'd changed their clothing into pajamas, and tucked them all in, and read the two stories, Roman was more than ready to call it a night. As Logan closed his eyes and Patton was already dozing, Romans dragged himself into the recliner to get some long awaited rest.

He woke to the sound of quiet sobs coming from upstairs. He was on his feet in an instant. He checked the bed, Logan was holding his Einstein doll and Patton was cuddling Pooh bear. That meant that Virgil was upstairs crying. Oh boy, he had no idea how to deal with this, but he would do it.

Roman walked softly up the stairs and saw Virgil in front of his door. He was in the black and purple striped PJs Roman had changed his clothing into but had somehow created or gotten a hoodie to put on over it. His eyes were puffy and his cheeks were wet, he must have been crying for a while. Moving slowly, Roman sat down next to Virgil.

Virgil glared at him and stuck out his little chin. “Well? You gonna yell at me for being out of bed?”

Roman shook his head. “No. I'm going to ask why you're crying and try to make it better.”

Virgil dropped his gaze to the carpet. “It's stupid. And you don't care anyway. You're just pretending so I'll go back to bed like you want and stop being a bother.”

Roman looked at the young boy on the floor beside him. He was vulnerable, he was scared, and he was convinced Roman didn't care. It was heartbreaking.

“We fight, all the time. You hated me, and you probably still do. Just don't pretend, okay?” Virgil had silent tears dripping down his face and Roman couldn't take it anymore, he reached out and pulled Virgil into a hug.

“I am so sorry, Virgil. I'm sorry I was antagonistic instead of trying to understand you before. I'm sorry I let prejudice blind me and keep me from noticing how wonderful you are. I'm sorry you ever felt that I hated you. I want to do better. I want to prove that I care about you. Let me do that, please?”

Roman felt Virgil slowly relax into the embrace. Tiny arms finally wrapped around him.

“I wanted my blanket,” Virgil whispered into his shoulder, “but I'm too scared to go in there.” Virgil tensed up and Roman rubbed his back in soothing circles until he relaxed again.

“I'm scared of the monsters under the bed downstairs too.”

Roman slowly let go of Virgil. “Are you okay to stay out here for a minute while I go grab your blanket?” Virgil nodded. “Good, then I'm going to bring your blanket to you, then we're going downstairs. I'll whip up a batch of monster repellant for under the bed, and if you're still worried, you can sleep with me. Okay, Verge?”

A soft thud against his chest and an armful of Virgil was his answer. _All in all, not a bad response_ he thought as he wrapped his arms around the petite anxious side in a warm hug.

 


	6. Morning

The first thing Roman noticed as he began to surface from dreamland to consciousness was daylight warming his face. Must be morning then. The next thing he noticed was that he couldn't move. That wasn't so bad, he was pretty comfortable and still tired. What woke him up fully was the shifting of weight on top of him and a hard edge digging into his stomach.

Roman's eyes popped open to find Virgil staring at him, only different Virgil. “Verge, did you...age?”

Virgil rolled his eyes. “Good on ya Sherlock. Yeah, must have happened while I was asleep.” On 'asleep', the newly teenaged side's voice cracked and Virgil quickly covered his mouth.

Well, it was an improvement anyway. Now at least Thomas might be  _less_ scared of the monster under his bed and he had one less young child to look after. Then again, Anxiety was now a teenager. If he remembered correctly, this meant Virgil would be far angstier and less communicative. 

Virgil seemed to realize where he was and quickly scrambled off of Roman and headed to the kitchen, probably to pour himself a bowl of cereal. It only took a moment for Roman to get up as well and check out the bed where Patton and Logan were still sleeping. Patton looked a little bit bigger, maybe he'd aged a few months? No, Roman realized he hadn't actually grown at all, it was a trick of the light and how the blanket over little Patton had folded around him. That was a little disappointing, but not unexpected. Logan, on the other hand, had definitely aged a couple years. He looked to be about six or seven now, Roman would have a better idea once he was awake and talking.

Deciding to let them sleep, for now, Roman went into the kitchen and found Virgil pawing through the fridge.

“Verge, are you okay on your own for a minute? The others are still asleep and I want to check on Thomas really quick.”

“Yeah, whatever, that's supposed to be my job,” Virgil replied, still with his head in the fridge.

“You're still too young for a full-time employment,” Roman said. “Be back soon,” and Roman sunk through the kitchen floor, rising up into Thomas's room.

Their host was sleeping soundly, but a loudly sung “Good Morning!” changed that quickly. Thomas startled, but calmed when he saw his creative side.

“Roman, could have used some more sleep, bud.”

“Sorry, Virgil and Logan have grown up a bit and I was wondering if you were feeling more like yourself?” Roman asked, eying the groggy man curiously.

Thomas took a moment, then smiled. “I feel a bit better actually, suddenly terrified of any and all social situations again, so thanks for having me cancel all my plans.”

Roman allowed himself a moment to bask in that bit of praise before returning to business.

“So, are you going to be alright, cuz I need to get back to the kiddos?” Roman said, starting to sink out.

“Wait! How much older are they? Why didn't Patton age? Did you find a cure? How soon am I gonna be able to get my life back? I have so many questions!” Thomas frantically clawed his way out from blankets and scooted over on the bed closer to Roman.

Roman rose back up into the room with a sigh and pressure building between his temples. Thomas deserved to know, and surely two sleeping children and one anxious teen couldn't get into too much trouble. It would only take a little longer.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to DavidtheTraveler for the awesome comments.


	7. Breaking Fast

Roman rose back into the living room of the mind-scape 45 minutes later. It had taken a while to relay everything that had happened in the last 22 hours or so to Thomas. And of course, Thomas had questions and concerns, with Roman not always able to give an answer. Would the fact that Virgil had aged faster give him a more power of Thomas's emotions? Why were they aging at different rates? What the heck did that sorcerer mean? Given the power of the potion on Thomas's state of mind, was the morally-ambiguous sorcerer a side of Thomas?

Roman had been thrown by that question, and honestly, he wasn't sure of the answer. They weren't a side the way Logan, Virgil, Patton, and he were. For one, they didn't seem to have their own room, but they could and did manipulate Roman's room to some extent. For another thing, they didn't look like Thomas and didn't identify as male like the rest of the sides did. They also hadn't introduced them self as an aspect of Thomas's personality, actually, they hadn't introduced them self at all.

Roman was drawn back to the present and away from that troubling question by a crash and a cry from the kitchen. Imagining the worst possible scenarios, Roman rushed into the kitchen and was caught completely off-guard by the sight that met him.

Logan was sitting at a child-sized table with a plate of eggs, pancakes, and tangerine slices in front of him and a plastic cup of milk. Virgil was next to the stove, holding Patton on his hip with one arm and sucking on the fingers of his other hand. There was a pan on the floor in front of the stove, surprisingly upright and containing what little of the scrambled eggs hadn't sprayed everywhere upon impact.

Roman froze, it was... not what he'd been expecting at all. There were no broken dishes, no blood, no crying. Virgil had cooked. Virgil was looking out for them. Virgil was burned. He figuratively shook himself from his stupor and moved forward, carefully avoiding the eggy mess on the floor and reaching for Patton.

“I'll hold him, go run your fingers under cold water.”

Patton, who had his little arms latched around Virgil's neck, looked between the two of them, making no move to let go.

“It's fine,” Virgil took his fingers out of his mouth and moved past Roman towards the sink, still holding Patton, “sorry I made a mess. I'll clean it up in a sec.”

Roman felt a little twinge of something heavy and disconcerting. “No, don't worry about it. I'll clean this up and finish breakfast.”

Roman carefully picked up the pan by the coolest part of the handle and set it back on the stove. He grabbed some paper towels off the counter and moved back to the floor to clean up the spilled egg. A glance towards the sink showed Virgil tensing up and Patton rubbing the back of his neck with a tiny hand. A peek at the small table (Virgil must have made that), saw Logan glancing back and forth between Roman and Virgil, a forgotten bit of pancake on a fork half-way to his mouth.

“Thank you, Verge,” Roman thought the nickname suited the teenager better than Virgil, “for making breakfast.” He paused, knowing he needed to say something else but unsure how to word it. “You did well.”

Roman saw the tension drain out of Virgil out of the corner of his eye.

“No problem,” it sounded a little choked, but when Virgil turned off the faucet and turned around his face was set in its customary little scowl again.

Roman nodded and finished cleaning up the egg-mess, dropping the paper towels in the trash.

“Have you and Patton eaten yet?”

Virgil nodded and Patton piped up, “Yeah! Vigil made me Mickey pancake, and Vigil had box shapes.” Patton pointed to a box of Lucky Charms with a piece of paper with the letters U N in front of the name on the counter.

Roman stifled a chuckle, “What about you, Logan? You still hungry?”

Logan put down his fork on his mostly clean plate and wiped his mouth with a little napkin. “I'm full, thank you.”

Roman raised a questioning eyebrow at Virgil. Virgil didn't even like eggs.

The teen shrugged. “That was for you.”

Roman had to restrain himself from launching forward and hugging Virgil like a grown-up Patton, satisfying himself instead with a wide grin and resting his hand on Virgil's shoulder. “Thanks, kiddo.”

Rolling his eyes, Verge brushed off the hand and walked out of the kitchen, not quite hiding the smile creeping over his lips.

 


	8. Data Data Data

“ _Give them what they need.”_

The words were tying Roman in knots. What did they mean!? He was making sure they had the essentials, and going beyond that. He was keeping them fed (with Virgil's help now), making sure they were clean, and taking afternoon naps. He may have been spoiling them a bit too. When Logan decided he wanted to play school, Roman had supplied him with a child size free-standing whiteboard, child-size desks, a world map, paper and pencils, markers, and crayons, even a little pointer. Logan was currently trying to teach Patton to write his name.

Virgil was doing his nails a shade of purple so dark it almost looked black, only showing its true color when it reflected the light. He had his headphones on and was bobbing his head slightly along with the music.

And Roman, Roman was standing in the hallway, tapping his fingers on his leg, looking at them all and desperately trying to figure out what they needed. He had to keep giving it to them so they would grow back to their previous ages again. He needed to think logically, narrow down possibilities to find the answer. The tapping stopped.

He needed to think logically! He checked his charges once more. Virgil seemed content, and Logan was in his element, teaching Patton the 'correct' way to hold a crayon. Little Patton's face was bent over the paper, apparently concentrating hard. They'd be fine for a few minutes while he went to Logan's room. He sunk out of the hallway and arose in Logan's room. He had to think like Logan. With a snap of his fingers he was in Logan's preferred black polo shirt, a blue necktie (with his sash over it, he had standards after all), and Warby Parker glasses. That should help him get into the mindset he needed. Pulling out Logan's desk chair, Roman sat down at Logan's desk and steepled his fingers the way he'd seen Logan do it a couple times. Now, how to bring the sides back to their original ages?

“Give them what they need,” Roman said aloud, “Give them what they need. Give them what they need.” He'd need more data than that. It wasn't specific enough on its own. It was a riddle that needed to be solved through inductive reasoning. Huh, he didn't know he knew that word, the room must be having an influence. Of course! He had data already, Logan and Virgil had grown, at different rates, but they'd both grown. He just needed to figure out what he'd given them that he hadn't given Patton! 

Or maybe it wasn't that simple. What if 'what they needed' was different for each of them? This line of thought wasn't getting him anywhere. He needed to focus on the data he had.

Roman stood and began pacing the room, hands clasped behind his back. Fact: He had until Wednesday to get the sides back to their normal age. Fact: It was Saturday. Conclusion: He had a little more than three days to fix find and implement a solution to this problem. Fact: Virgil had aged approximately nine years sometime last night. Fact: Logan had aged approximately two years last night. Fact: Patton had not aged at all.

Roman stopped pacing and shoves his hands through his hair. There had to be some connection between the sorcerer’s cryptic message, his actions, and how the sides had grown! He just couldn't find it, and his frustration wasn't getting him anywhere either.

A soft knock on the door brought Roman to the present. He opened the door to Logan's room, expecting to see Virgil, but found Logan instead. The small Logical side raised a critical eyebrow as he took in Roman's appearance.

“You stole my look,” Logan said, “and you don't wear it well.”

Roman huffed, he should be annoyed or embarrassed, but Logan's adult-level sass coming from a six-year-old body was oddly charming and preventing him from feeling either of those things.

“Yes, well, I was hoping it would help me think more like you,” Roman replied a bit sheepishly, waving his hand and removing the Logan-esq garments.

“You could have asked me.” Little Logan said, sticking out his bottom lip in a tiny pout.

“Next time I will, professor. Now, did you need me for anything?”

Logan opened his mouth, poised to speak and closed it again. Roman could practically see the wheels turning in Logan's mind, deciding how much to say, how best to say it, and what would get the most desired result.

“I think Patton... I think Patton needs you,” Logan said at last.

Roman took a deep breath and stepped into the hallway, closing Logan's door behind him.

“What is going on with Patton? Is he hurt?”

Logan shook his head, “He didn't grow, he won't smile unless Verge tickles him, and he isn't talking. Pat always talks.”

Roman thought about it, he hadn't actually seen Patton smile since their adventure yesterday, and then only briefly. And Patton did usually have quite a bit to say and wasn't shy about speaking up, but he'd hardly said anything the past couple of days. Logan, at the tender age of six, was more observant than him in his prime. He really should have just asked for Logan's help.

“Thank you for telling me, Logan. I'll take care of it. What would you like to do while I work this out with Patton?”

Logan adjusted his glasses with a small hand. “I will have Verge read me a story and take a nap,” the logical side said matter of factly.

Roman smiled, he would have liked to see that (and get pictures for future blackmail), but he had other concerns. Now that he'd told Logan he would help Patton, he had to figure out how.

 


	9. In the Name of Love

When Roman was sure that little Logan and teenage Virgil were safely in Logan's room reading fairytales, Roman went downstairs to the living room. It was time for him to talk to Patton.

Patton was still sitting at his little desk, drawing a picture with his crayons. Roman stopped at the foot of the stairs and watched as Patton switched between colors; Purple and black and dark blue and red a light blue was used liberally. The little side looked more consumed by his coloring than enjoying it, hunched over the paper and pressing a little too hard with the crayon, laying the colored wax on thick. When he seemed finished with his coloring, Roman walked over to him.

“Hi Patton, can I see your drawing?” Roman asked, keeping his voice as soft as he could.

Patton looked up at him warily before silently handing him the piece of paper That wasn't a good sign. Roman took the paper and sat on the floor beside Patton. The drawing was, well, messy. None of them were artists, and Patton was only two or three, so fine motor skill weren't fully developed yet. But the colors, he recognized the colors, and from there he started to make out the drawing.

The tall red scribble was him, he was between a small black and blue scribble (Logan) and a slightly taller purple and black scribble (Verge). In the far corner of the page was a small light blue scribble (Patton) with dark blue around what Roman assumed were his feet. There were a few water marks on the paper that had the look and feel of recent tears.

Roman looked back at Patton who was curled into himself, arms around his middle, and staring at the desk in front of him. He looked so fragile and sad as if he was waiting for Roman to yell at him. From his new angle on the floor Roman finally saw the little tear streaks on Patton's cheeks and the way his lower lip trembled.

“Patton,” Roman finally spoke, trying to maintain a soft, even tone, “why did you draw yourself alone?”

“I don know,” Patton replied with a little sniff. The little boy tucked his chin into his chest making his bangs fall over his eyes.

“Patton,” Roman tried again, “did you draw yourself in a puddle of tears?”

Another sniff. “Maybe.” A couple more sniffs, then a sob, and Patton started wailing. It was a horrible sight, the youngest of them with his head thrown back, mouth open, tears pouring over chubby cheeks flushing an angry red; he looked wretched.

Roman did the only thing he could think of, he picked up little Patton and held him close to his chest, letting him cry and scream and wail, waiting for him to cry himself out. Roman stroked his back and cooed at him, conjuring tissues as needed. He helped the little one blow his nose between fits and tears, stroked his bangs back from his forehead, and just held him. When Patton was reduced to hiccuping and the occasional stray tear, Roman stood, still holding him to his chest, and went to the kitchen to get him a sippy cup of apple juice.

Cup and juice were successfully collected without releasing Patton, and Roman returned them to the living room, sitting on the couch and settling Patton in his lap to drink his juice. Patton kept his eyes on Roman as his drank and Roman smiled back hesitantly, still unsure what had upset Patton so much. He only knew that, whatever it was, it was his own fault.

Patton handed back the sippy cup and Roman set it on the coffee table, trying to think of what to say.

“Why d'you leave?” Patton asked, big Bambi eyes still fixed on Roman's face.

“Is that why you're upset,” Roman asked. 

Patton nodded, then frowned and shook his head. He looked frustrated and confused, unable to voice his thoughts, so Roman decided to just answer.

“I went to see Thomas and make sure he was okay.” 

Patton blinked and nodded slowly. Roman doubted he understood, so he continued.

“I didn't mean to be gone as long as I was. I was hoping to come back before you woke up, but Thomas was concerned about you and Logan and Virgil, so I had to tell him how you were and what I've been trying to do to make you guys big again.”

“Are we gon be big again?” Patton asked.

“Of course you will be, I promise.”

“I dina get big tho.” Patton's bottom lip was trembling again. “I'm still liddle.”

Roman stroked Patton's hair and fought to hold back tears of his own. Naturally, Patton had noticed Virgil and Logan's growth spurts and felt left out. He felt so stupid and so not prince-like for having missed that.

“I know, and I'm sorry... It's my fault you didn't grow. I'm supposed to give you what you need and then you'll grow, but I don't know what you need. I'm not doing a very good job taking care of you, huh?” Roman said, a sad smile on his lips as he finished. 

Patton's lip stopped quivering. A determined expression on his delicate features, Patton carefully stood up on Roman's thighs and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

“You're good Princey, jus ask. I need love.” 

And if that was not the most profound thing Roman had ever heard from a child he didn't know what was. Of course! Patton was Thomas's heart, he would need love and affection to grow. Roman hugged Patton tight and covered his forehead in little kisses.

“I love you so much, Patton. I promise, next time I'll tell you before I go anywhere or I'll take you with me. And I'll ask you what you need so you can tell me, okay?”

Patton nodded into his shoulder and hugged him with his tiny arms around Roman's neck.

They were going to be okay.

 


	10. Logical Conclusion

Logan slowly woke from his nap and tried to remember where he was. He was in his bed in his room, he'd fallen asleep while Virgil read him  _Beauty and the Beast_ from his book of fairy tales. There was an arm draped around his midsection, Virgil must have fallen asleep too, but there was something odd about the arm around him. Virgil blinked and looked down, he couldn't see very well without his glasses, but he could make out the colors and vague pattern of Virgil's hoodie sleeve. Logan carefully reached for the bedside table and picked up his glasses, putting them on and blinking owlishly. Something wasn't quite right about that either.

With his glasses on and his mind slowly clearing the fog of sleep from his thoughts, Logan finally discovered why it had felt strange. The arm around his midsection was directly proportional to the size of his own arm. He had been able to reach the bedside table, something his child-sized body hadn't been able to do; he must have aged again. Trying to contain his excitement, Logan checked his age mentally. Logan tried to think about the working of the universe, remember scientific theories, and recall the psychology he had been studying before his regression and found that he could, in fact, remember all of it. He even had the mental vocabulary to express those ideas. He was probably back to his adult self, but he had to be sure.

Logan tried to lift the arm draped over him, only for the offending appendage to tighten its grip and a leg to flop over his own, effectively pinning him. He would have to wake Virgil up in order to get up.

“Virgil,” Logan whispered, not wanting to startle the anxious side. Well, his voice was back to a lower range again, that was reassuring.

Virgil hummed softly and held tighter, pulling Logan against his chest and nuzzling his face into the back of Logan's neck.

“Virgil,” Logan tried again with no effect, it seemed the anxious one was very tired and very cuddly.

“Virgil, I wasn't aware that you enjoy this much physical contact, and I will be happy to indulge such desires in the future should it prove necessary, but you need to wake up.”

“Mmmm, don't wanna,” Virgil muttered into the back of his neck.

The resulting sensation was unfamiliar though not altogether unpleasant. Logan briefly considered indulging in this cuddling activity for a bit longer, for research, before remembering his earlier mission.

“Virgil wake up!” Logan tried again, this time at his normal volume.

“Nooooooooo, this dream is nice,” Virgil muttered back sleepily.

“This is no dream, Virgil. You are actually holding me in bed and we might be back to our adult sizes again.”

Virgil abruptly stopped nuzzling him. The anxious side pulled away from him suddenly with an exclaimed “Oh shit!” and promptly fell off the other side of the bed.

Logan got up carefully but quickly, walking around the bed to give Virgil a hand up.

“Sorry,” Virgil muttered, taking Logan's outstretched hand and staring at the floor.

“No need to apologize, Virgil,” Logan replied, helping Virgil to his feet. At least _he_ was definitely back to being an adult. “I didn't mind cuddling with you, and I would be willing to repeat the experience,”

Virgil finally looked at him, his eyes wide and mouth slightly ajar,

“but I think this growth spurt deserves investigation first.” 

Logan exited the room, pulling a stunned Virgil along behind him by their still-clasped hands, and walked down the hallway to the bathroom, opening the door and flicking on the light with his free hand. Logan inspected himself in the mirror. He was his correct height again, correct build, he looked almost exactly as he had before Roman had spilled potion on him. He had his vocabulary, his knowledge, and his size back, so what was different? Logan inspected his face carefully, of course! How had he missed something so obvious? He was blushing, still holding Virgil's hand.

“I seem to be back to my previous state. How about you, Virgil?” 

Virgil was checking himself over visually in the mirror and physically with his free hand, running it over his hair, face, neck, and torso.

“Yeah, I'm back to semi-normal,” Virgil replied, his voice a touch strained.

“Is something wrong, Virgil?”

“N-not wrong, just, Logan, you're still holding my hand. Are you okay?” Virgil looked nervous, not an uncommon expression of his lately given the abrupt changes in their lives over the past couple of days.

“I am perfectly fine. I have simply observed that you find positive physical contact soothing in times of change and I am not opposed to providing it.” Logan smiled as he watched the gears click into place in Virgil's mind, metaphorically of course.

“We can go back to being adults without leaving behind important childhood lessons.” 

And with that Logan was off down the hallway again, a now smiling Virgil following behind still holding his hand.

Logan led Virgil down the stairs to the living room, not at all surprised to see Roman and Patton asleep, both their proper, full sizes again. What did make him arch an eyebrow was the way they were entwined on the couch, a blanket over their legs. Patton was curled into Roman who was wrapped around Patton. Logan concluded that they had fallen asleep with Patton still a toddler and that the position had probably been more comfortable for both of them with Patton at his smaller size.

Logan moved forward to wake them, only to be held back by Virgil, who shook his head and pulled the logical side back. Logan allowed himself to be pulled away, he could let them sleep for now, now that they were their appropriate ages again. They could work out how the experience affected their relational dynamics later. They could even wait to tell Thomas the good news together.

For once Logan simply took a moment to appreciate where he was and who he was with. He stood there, holding Virgil's hand, looking at the peaceful, sleeping faces of Roman and Patton, and relaxed. He was home.

 


End file.
